Behind Bars
by yokascruz
Summary: The Donald Mann incident allows Faith and Cruz to reach a common ground. They find themselves bonding under unusual circumstances. Here's an AU story of season 6.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Behind Bars 1/6  
Author: Mandi  
Main Characters: Faith & Cruz w/supporting cast  
Summary: Faith and Cruz bond under unusual circumstances  
Disclaimer: They are not mine  
Authors Note: An alternate version of the whole Donald Mann/IAB Capt. Finney and all that good stuff. Faith & Cruz were my favs on the show, ironic, but true, so I gotta admit, I enjoyed writing this series.

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Everyone in the prison all of a sudden went off, they were all screaming murderous threats, having violent out bursts, and a countless number of them were glaring hatefully at the two newcomers making their way silently down the roll of narrow cells. Maritza Cruz lifted her chin high, showing them all that she wouldn't cower in fear. She walked as if daring anyone to make a move, come after her, try anything, she'd be waiting for them. But in truth, Cruz knew she wouldn't last long in here.

Cruz glanced to her right at the woman walking next to her. Faith Yokas walked with her eyes downcast and a slight slump in her shoulders. Faith was just too tired to deal with their current predicament, she was tired period. She had nothing left in her to keep her head high like Cruz, and unlike Cruz, Faith accepted the fact that they probably weren't even gonna last a day in prison. As they passed the cells, one after another, both Faith and Cruz recognized faces, many of whom they had arrested over the years of working law enforcement. And one after another, each familiar face mocked them, spit at their feet, and some even threatened their lives.

Cruz leaned slightly toward Faith, whispering so that only she could hear, "you gotta keep your head up, Yokas. We can't let them think we're scared."

Faith sighed to herself, shaking her head, and glancing sadly down at the smaller woman, "Does it really matter? We're dead in here anyway."

"Yokas—Faith, what the hell are you talking about? This is only temporary, till the trial. What we really have to worry about right now is how are we gonna get out of what we did."

"What I did." Faith corrects, tearing her eyes away from Cruz's and looking down again. "You didn't have to get involved."

Cruz shrugs, also casting her eyes downward as they continued to walk, "yeah, well, you didn't leave me much of a choice. And I knew Bosco wouldn't be too happy with me if he found out I ratted you out."

Cruz watched as Faith flinched at the mention of Bosco. Cruz had almost forgotten Bosco was still lying in a hospital bed at Mercy, still recovering from being shot four times in the chest and once through the jaw. But what she couldn't forget was the fact that Bosco had gone down shielding Faith. In that moment, when she didn't hear Bosco answering Faith's calls for him, she knew something was terribly wrong. To know how much Bosco would risk for Faith, made Cruz realize that there was no way in hell she could let Faith go to prison for killing Donald Mann. Without a doubt, Faith killed Mann for Bosco. And Cruz in return would protect Faith for him.

"Our differences set aside, Faith, I think what you did was a public service, no jury in their right mind would send us to prison."

"Look around, Cruz. We're already in prison—and we're not gonna last a day here."

"Hey! You two!" The female prison guard barks from behind them. "Shut the hell up."

Cruz bites her tongue, wanting so badly to respond, but Faith nudges her slightly with her elbow, giving her a warning glance. The last thing they needed was to piss off a prison guard. The prison guards were probably their best defense against the angry inmates all waiting for a chance to snuff Faith or Cruz in their sleep. But then again, Cruz knew there was such a thing as corrupt prison officials that probably would gladly help to get rid of her and Faith.

"The open door on your left." The female guard spoke up again, gesturing to the open cell coming up on their left. Faith and Cruz exchanged glances as they approached the cell.

"We're sharing cells?" Cruz couldn't bother but ask.

"You prefer sleeping with some girl you locked up?" The guard snaps back. She waits a few seconds before she smirks at Cruz's silence, "I didn't think so." The three stop in front of the cell, Faith and Cruz glancing between the guard and their new home. The guard just stares back at them, emotionless.

"Well, get in there." She orders harshly shoving Cruz then Faith into the cell. She closes the door, making sure it's secure. "Welcome to your new home ladies. Enjoy the stay."

For the next few minutes, there is complete silence as Faith and Cruz just stand, both numb and both looking around at their slightly grungy cell. There's a sink, a toilet, a few magazines scattered on a small counter top and a bunk bed in the corner. The reality of the situation hadn't hit neither of them till this very moment as they realize finally where they actually are and for how long. They'd have to be tough to survive, they couldn't let their guard down for a second because it may be a second of weakness that costs them their lives.

"So," Cruz finally manages to speak as she walks toward the bunk bed, "you want the top or the bottom?"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Behind Bars 2/6  
Author: Mandi  
Characters: Faith and Cruz  
Summary: Faith and Cruz bond under unusual circumstances  
Disclaimer: They are not mine  
Authors Note: Here goes another chapter.

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"Yokas," Cruz whispered, turning on her side as she lay in bed, she just couldn't fall asleep. "Yokas!" She hissed leaning over the side of the bed slightly while holding her breath and listening for a reply from Faith. After waiting a few seconds she felt Faith moving around on the bed beneath her and she tried again, "Yokas! I swear to God, wake up!"

"Dammit! I'm up—why the hell'd you wake me up for," Faith replied, frustration quite evident in her tone. She rubbed her eyes with her palms and adjusted herself so now she was laying on her back, looking up at the bed above her.

"Well, I figured if I couldn't sleep because of your damn snoring, why should you?"

Faith let out a snicker, "I do not snore."

"Oh, yes you do." Cruz assured her, leaning over the edge of the bed to look down at Faith. Faith in return met her eyes in the dark cell and Cruz couldn't mistake the spiteful glare looking right back at her. "How can you sleep so easily?"

Faith sighed and closed her eyes, "Well, they say a guilty conscience keeps you up at night," she shot back, opening one eye to see Cruz's reaction.

This time it was Cruz's turn to snicker, "hey, wasn't it you who killed the guy whose murder we're now in prison for?"

For the first time ever, Faith couldn't muffle a laugh that escaped her lips because of Cruz's sarcastic come back. Which Faith had to admit that she had nothing whatsoever as good to counter Cruz's comment. Cruz herself, though caught off guard by Faith's sudden burst of laughter at first, joined in and suddenly, both women couldn't stop laughing over the irony of their current situation.

"I think being in here with you is driving me crazy." Faith gasped trying to regain her breath from laughing too hard.

"And to think it's only our first night." Cruz responded, but soon found her smile beginning to fade and a short while after the laughter between them died down, and complete silence once again darkened the mood. Cruz's eyes remained wide open, staring up at the ceiling, debating whether or not to say what's on her mind. A few minutes went by before she sucked in a deep breath then spoke up, "Yokas?"

"Hmm?" Faith said, her eyes still closed, trying to fall back asleep.

"If it's worth anything now—I just wanted you to know that—I'm—."

"I know—," Faith interrupted, not letting Cruz finish, "me too."

Cruz was astonished that Faith had known what she was talking about, but she was grateful in a way because she didn't actually have to come out and say she was 'sorry.' Cruz nodded to herself.

"Tomorrow's gonna be hard."

"I know." Faith was not only preparing herself mentally for tomorrow but also trying to do so physically as well, but that was hard when Cruz wouldn't let her go to sleep. "We'll survive."

Cruz was taken a back slightly by referring to her and Faith as a 'we'. If they weren't under these current conditions, Faith would never refer to them as a team, never, but Cruz found a new source of strength when being assured she wasn't in this alone. No matter how much shit had gone down between the two of them in the past two years, Cruz felt she was willing to forgive and forget if Faith did the same. Still holding on to their hatred for one another wouldn't help them with their present situation. They both had enemies in here, both had to watch their backs, but Cruz began to think maybe they'd even start watching each other's backs. Who would have ever thought, Faith Yokas and Maritza Cruz would finally reach a common ground?

"We'll be good—as long as we stick together." Faith was half asleep as she uttered her words to Cruz. She said them half-heartedly, but she knew that deep down, she meant it. Cruz was really all she had in here, it was time to be mature about this and push their differences aside.

"As long as we stick together," Cruz repeated softly before she drifted off to sleep.

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"Break it up, hey! Stop! Break it up! Whose behind this!" Numerous prison guards were hurrying quickly into the cafeteria, heading to the center of the room where a group of inmates were creating quite a hysteria, swearing insults at each other, pulling hair, throwing punches. When the guards were finally able to break through the crowd of women, they grabbed the two main catalysts for the violent commotion.

"On your stomach! Get the hell on your stomach! Now! Down!" One guard shouted, grabbing Faith by the back of her neck and slamming her down on to the table in front of her, twisting her arms painfully behind her back. Another guard soon after slammed Cruz face down next to Faith on the table, also twisting Cruz's arms behind her back. Both women looked like they had gone to hell and back.

"So much for sticking together, huh?" Cruz teased, a smile spreading across her slightly bleeding lips. Faith just rolled her eyes, one of them turning slightly purple in color from being blind-sided by a rather large fellow prisoner. Faith rested her cheek against the cold steel of the table as handcuffs were applied to her sprained wrist from when she hit the rather large fellow prisoner back.  
"You two are headed for isolation." One guard informed them harshly.

"You just couldn't keep your temper could you?" Faith scowled as two guards roughly pushed her and Cruz out of the cafeteria and down a long hall. From behind them, many of the inmates were still shouting death threats from the cafeteria but both Faith and Cruz ignored them. Cruz had actually planned to get thrown into isolation, at least that would ensure their survival even if it were only for a week.

It had all worked out perfectly really. After receiving their meals, Cruz scanned the room full of inmates, searching for the biggest and meanest looking woman in there. When her eyes fell upon a 6'6", 275 pound woman, she knew she found the perfect match. It was an added bonus that the woman looked very much like a woman named Betty that Cruz had locked up not too long ago. Cruz gestured toward the woman and Faith followed her to the table, they took a seat on either side of the woman. Much to Cruz's delight it turned out that the woman was Betty and she immediately recognized Cruz and began to taunt her saying she was gonna kill Cruz for getting her sent to prison.

Her plan definitely wouldn't have worked if Cruz wasn't one hundred percent sure Faith would have her back. After a few minutes of listening to Betty scream threats into her ear, Cruz stood up, picked up her steel tray and, much to Faith's chagrin, slammed it right into Betty's face. Betty's head snapped back, blood spurting out from her nose. Cruz was sure she had broken it but she didn't time to make sure because soon after she attacked Betty a huge mess of inmates rushed her. Soon following, everyone was screaming and fighting with one another.

While being under a large pile of women scratching and clawing at her, Cruz was almost certain she was wrong about Faith helping her, but the next thing she knew, Faith was there, pulling off numerous inmates, trying to get to Cruz. That surged Cruz's adrenaline and when she got to her feet, she just started throwing punches trying to take down as many people as she could. Faith did the same before she actually got thrown up against a wall by Betty, who's face was nearly all covered in blood. The ordeal was total chaos, but Cruz couldn't help the smile plastered to her face as the guards threw her and Faith into a confined cell somewhere deep within the prison.

Faith plopped her broken body onto one of the beds in the cell, laying on her back and covering her eyes with one of her hands, "please tell me why you're smiling?"

Cruz sat on the bed opposite Faith and propped her elbows on her knees, "I just can't believe how well that worked."

Faith lifted her hand off her face and turned her head to look at Cruz, "you planned this?" she asked in disbelief. Cruz nodded with a sly smile on her face. She was seriously close to breaking out laughing.

Faith just stared at the other woman with completely astonishment, "I'd kick your ass right now if my body wasn't so damn sore." Was all Faith said before turning her head to look back up at the ceiling.

"Hey, we're in isolation, no one can touch us here. We're safe."

"Whatever you say—," Faith acknowledged, closing her slowly swelling eyes.

Cruz smiled as she too laid down on her back. The first 24 hours had gone by and they were still standing. Only 29 more 24 hours to go. Cruz turned her head to look at Faith, "you gotta admit, though—that was pretty fun."

Faith opened her eyes to look back at Cruz. Seeing the glimmer of excitement in Cruz's eyes made a wicked smirk form on Faith's face and soon the two were once again laughing together. Both beaten and sore, they laughed till their stomachs hurt and their eyes filled with tears.

Maybe Faith was right, being in prison together was driving them both crazy.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Behind Bars 3/6  
Author: Mandi  
Characters: Faith, Cruz, Davis, and Sully  
Summary: Davis and Sully pay a visit to Faith and Cruz in prison and end up discussing Bosco's condition.  
Disclaimer: They are not mine  
Authors Note: Can't have a Third Watch fic w/out a some Bosco thrown in the mix. hehe.

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A week insolation came and went a little too quickly for Cruz's liking. But when she and Faith were finally reunited with the rest of the inmates, things didn't seem as bad as she expected them to be. They came to find out that Betty was thrown into isolation as well, but she'd be there for another three weeks and by that time, hopefully, Faith and Cruz would be out of prison and standing trial together. Together, seemed to be the exact word to describe this new common foundation Faith and Cruz found. Under these unusual circumstances, they really had no choice but to stick together as a team, as a unit, as partners in crime.

The week after being in isolation, numerous visitors came to see Cruz and Faith. Both agreed they wouldn't meet with anyone unless they were together during the visitation. They had each other to trust in prison, whether or not they hated having to depend on one another, they both knew it was crucial for their survival. Faith spoke to Sully one late afternoon and he informed her that he'd be visiting soon. Though, he wanted to only speak with Faith but Faith assured him that whatever he had to say, he could say in front of Cruz. Faith knew that Sully was probably stunned by her declaration that her and Cruz were now 'buddies' but it didn't mask the joy she heard in his voice knowing that she was alive and well, given the current situation. Over the years they've known each other, Sully and Faith had become great friends, and Faith was grateful for his wanting to visit.

Sully showed up just a little pass noon the next day, one and a half weeks since Faith and Cruz had been in prison. Given that they both worked law enforcement, the prison warden granted Faith and Cruz a secluded monitored room to meet with Sully. It was not a surprise that Davis showed up with his former partner and best friend. The four of them sat down at a table in the small room. Faith and Cruz sitting opposite Davis and Sully while a guard stood at the door just in case the rowdy inmates started acting up again.

"Hey—," Sully motioned for the guard's attention. "How about we lose the cuffs? We're NYPD, we can handle them," he said pulling out his badge to show the guard. After a few moments, looking back and forth between Sully and Davis, the guard nodded his agreement and removed the cuffs from Faith and Cruz.

"Can we speak to them alone?" Davis asked, nodding his head at the guard. Again, the guard looked suspiciously at the former 55-Charlie duo, nodded again, then left the room.

"Thanks for coming guys." Faith said, smiling at Sully then Davis.

"First things first." Sully said, smiling back at her and standing from his chair. He walked to Faith's side of the table and practically lifted her off the chair and into his arms. Faith let out a laugh, wrapping her arms around Sully and patting him on the back in a friendly manner, "it's good to see you, Faith."

"You too, Sul." Faith smiled. Davis, following Sully's lead, also stood up and embraced his friend. He even slipped in a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, Davis." The three of them, all joined in a good laugh and smiled at one another. Soon things grew rather uncomfortable when they all turned to look at Cruz who sat awkwardly, watching the three friends exchange greetings. Sully coughed, clearing his throat, as he leaned past Faith and stuck out his hand to Cruz.

"Good to see you too, Sarge." He greeted, putting on a friendly smile and nodding his head at her. Cruz gratefully took his hand and firmly shook it. She did the same to Davis before they all finally settled down on the table.

"How is he, Sully?" Faith was the first to break the ice, her eyes on the veteran cop in front of her, her forehead slightly creased with worry. Sully laced his fingers together on top of the table, meeting Faith's concerned gaze.

"He woke up yesterday," Sully said, a smile spreading across his features because of the complete and utter happiness now written across Faith's face.

"He did?" Faith covered her mouth with her hand and blinked back tears of joy. She couldn't believe the news he just gave her. Such wonderful news, she sniffed and quickly wiped a tear that fell from her eye. "Is it—is he gonna be okay?"

"He's alive—and he asked for you." Davis informed her, a smile on the younger man's face as well. Faith's eyes widened as she moved to look at Davis.

"He asked?—he talked?" Faith was astonished, she shook her head as she continued, "but the doctor told me, he wouldn't—he wouldn't be able to talk or—."

"Doctors make mistakes, Faith. It's human."

"Oh, my God." Faith smiled, covering her face with both hands and breaking down. To Sully and Davis's surprise, Cruz instantly leans toward Faith and wraps her arm around Faith's back, trying to soothe the broken but happy woman. Cruz noticed their stunned expressions and smiled back at them.

"Things changed," Cruz told them.

Davis nodded, "apparently. So you two friends now?"

"You could say that." Cruz said before turning her attention back to Faith, "Yokas, hey, it's okay. He's awake—he's gonna get better."

Faith nodded, wanting so desperately to believe Cruz's words. After a brief moment, Faith dried her eyes and looked back at Davis, "he asked for me? What did you guys tell him? Did you tell him what happened? Did you tell him I'm here?"

Sully shook his head, "no—he's been in and out of it since he woke because of the medication so we haven't really gotten to explain anything yet. But when he finally does fully comprehend what's going on, we're gonna have to tell him something, Faith. He's gonna be worried about you—he's gonna wonder where you are, if you're okay."

"I know—but," Faith looked down at her hands, "he's gonna find out sooner or later what I did. What I did because I thought I lost him, I don't want him thinking any less of me."

"That'll never happen—Bosco thinks the world of you, Faith. Trust me." Davis offers his comfort and Faith smiles back at him. There was a short silence where the four of them just looked down at their hands. No one really wanted to discuss Bosco and Faith's feelings for one another. It became quite apparent how much Bosco cared about her after taking those bullets for her and how strongly she returned those feelings when she shot and killed Donald Mann. It was a topic only Bosco and Faith should discuss when the time came, but that would have to wait, there were more pressing issues at hand.

Sully leaned forward, and on instinct the other three moved in as well, "there are only four people who know what really happened on that roof top, and they're here in this room. No one else is gonna know the truth Faith unless you want them too."

"Thanks, Sully. I just—I want to be the one to tell him. If he asks, I want to be the one to tell him the truth." Faith uttered, looking around the table at the three agreeing faces.

"How you two holding up in here?" Davis questioned, giving them both a semi-sympathetic look.

Faith shot Cruz the evil eye, "well, Cruz here had to get her panties in a bunch and get us thrown in isolation for a week."

"Isolation? How'd that happen?" Sully looked to Faith for an answer.

"Trust me, Sul. You don't wanna know." She assured him as she ran her fingers threw her hair. "Besides, I think it did more good than harm."

"Hey—it got us out of the line of fire," Cruz countered, making her case, "we were good as dead if we didn't give those sonofabitches time to cool off—plus, the warden's cool with us. He owes me a few favors from before, he's looking out for us in here."

"Cruz can be quite persuasive." Faith added.

"You know it," Cruz shot back looking at Faith. Faith in turn just threw her a smirk.

Davis suddenly laughed looking from Faith to Cruz, "wow, this is a page out of a crazy dream or something. I can't believe you guys are actually getting along."

"Desperate situations call for desperate measures." Faith offered her explanation, though short, it was exactly to the point.

"Differences aside, guys, me and Yokas are stuck in here together. Let's just keep this to ourselves, I don't want the guys at the House thinkin' I've gone soft." Cruz winked at them and both Sully and Davis smiled back. They were starting to like this new and improved Maritza Cruz, even if nearly two years ago she nearly killed one of their dearest friends. If Faith found it in her heart to forgive Cruz then Sully and Davis would too.

The door to the room opened and the guard popped his head in, "time's up." He informed them. Sully and Davis nodded and got up from the table. Faith and Cruz followed them to the door.

"You take care of yourself, Faith, you hear me?" Sully said, once again wrapping his arms around her. "I'll let you know if anything improves." He kissed the top of her head and pulled away, letting Davis a chance to hug Faith. The two officers said their good-byes to Cruz as well before leaving the room. Cruz couldn't help but envy the evident affection and adoration coming from Sully and Davis when they looked at Faith. Unlike Faith, Cruz never really did have friends, she never allowed herself any because to her friends were weaknesses. But now, seeing the strength a friendship could bring, Cruz realized what she had been missing out on for so long. If Faith would give her a chance, Cruz wanted a chance at friendship not just a tolerance because of what they were going through.

"Look—I'll admit, the little rumble the other week—it was fun." Faith confessed as the guard walked them down the hall back to the prison cells.

"Really?" Cruz looked at her with a wicked smile on her lips, "cause I was wonderin' how you feel about food fights?"

Faith could do nothing but smile back.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Behind Bars 4/6  
Author: Mandi  
Characters: Faith and Cruz  
Summary: Faith gets reluctantly pulled into another one of Cruz's great plans.  
Disclaimer: They are not mine  
Authors Note: Did I mention I really have no direction w/this story? Thanks form continuing toread anyway. I appreciate it soo much!

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The food fight hadn't gone exactly as Cruz planned since two other inmates were blamed for it and sent to isolation. Cruz really couldn't understand how she and Faith weren't held responsible for the incident when they so clearly threw the first spoon fulls of mash potatoes that started the chaos. Her only guess was that the guards were out to get her and Faith. The guards probably knew her and Faith wouldn't be lasting much longer and keeping them out of isolation would ensure their demise.

After the night of the hectic food fight her and Faith started taking turns sleeping in shifts. Cruz would sleep the first four hours or so while Faith stayed awake looking out for any suspicious happenings that could possibly endanger her or Cruz. Then Faith would wake Cruz up for her turn as lookout. It worked quite well for the first week or so, but then the drag of only getting four hours of sleep every night started to take its toll on both women. But that was life right? Gotta make some sacrifices for the greater good.

By day, Faith and Cruz found themselves working in the prison garden pulling weeds, watering plants, and trimming hedges. It wasn't the greatest, but it was something. At least they didn't have to do laundry and wash dishes like most of the inmates. Garden work, though hot as hell because of the blazing sun over head, was quite relaxing. Cruz found herself enjoying the work especially when she made time to take a whiff of the sweet smelling garden roses.

"Yokas," Cruz uttered, leaning toward Faith as they stood side by side trimming the thick hedges lining the prison fences.

"Why are you whispering?" Faith asked, keeping her focus on the task at hand.

"See that guard ova there?" Cruz nodded pass Faith at the guard standing about 10 feet away under the shade of the nearby building. Faith reluctantly looked over her shoulder at the man Cruz was referring too. He caught her eye and nodded at her, flashing his pearly whites in the process. Faith politely smiled back before looking at Cruz again.

"Yeah, what about him?" Faith shrugged.

"He's checkin' you out."

"Give me a break." Faith replied while rolling her eyes.

"You should go give um a little sumpin' sumpin'."

"Sumpin'? Sumpin? What are you a rapper? Speak English."

Cruz shifted her weight to one leg, obviously growing frustrated with her new friend, "you know what I mean. Go ova there and be friendly with him."

"What do I look like, a prostitute?"

"I don't mean sleep with the guy—just go ova there and lead um on, Yokas. We need all the friends we can get and from the way that guy's lookin' at you—come on, go flirt with the him a little."

"Hey—look at me. Who do you think you're talkin' to here? I don't flirt."

"Come on, you and Bosco do it all the time."

"What!" Faith nearly shouted turning to face Cruz, "me and Bosco? What the hell are you talkin' bout? We don't flirt."

"Right."

"We don't."

"Okay—sure." Cruz said innocently, nodding her head.

"Cruz—."

"Alright! You and Bosco don't flirt—my mistake." She threw her hands up in defeat and smiled to herself. Getting under Faith's skin was just too easy.

"You know, you're really startin' to piss me off." Faith started again.

"Yeah? What else's new? Yokas, I'm not askin' you ta marry the guy, just show him you're interested and maybe we can start gettin' some pull around here."

"Like I said before, who do you think you're talkin' to here? I've been with one guy in my life time, I don't know how to—."

"Wait—hold up!" Cruz interrupted, a stunned expression now on her face, "one guy? You serious?" She really couldn't believe what Faith had just told her.

"Yeah, I was married right outta high school to—."

"Fred."

"Yeah, Fred."

"Bald Fred."

"Yeah, bald Fred, can we get back to what we were talkin' bout before. I really don't wanna discuss my bald jagoff ex right now."

"Great, so let's move on from Fred and get your ass talkin' to that guard. I think he's kinda cute."

"Yeah? Then you go talk to him."

"Believe me, that guy ain't interested in me. Who knows, maybe you two will hit it off."

"Oh—the inmate and the prison guard, it's a romance of the century." Faith scowled in her most sarcastic tone, "I don't think so."

"Yokas."

"You can't make me go over there."

"Fine." Cruz said finally accepting defeat. But as she continued to work, she glanced side long at Faith who was busy with her hedge trimmer. A new plan started circulating in Cruz's head. After a few minutes she asked again, "you sure you're not gonna go ova there?"

Faith shook her head, "not a chance."

"Suit yourself." Cruz barely finished saying before she slammed her weight into Faith's side, causing the blade of Faith's hedge trimmer to slice the skin of her palm. Faith let out a cry of pain, gaining the attention of the guard.

"Why the hell'd you do that for!" Faith hissed, glaring angrily at Cruz.

"Just add pressure—It's not that deep, quit whining." Cruz told her before motioning for the guard they were talking about earlier, "hey! We got a problem here!" He quickly made his way over to them.

"You did that on purpose." Faith accused.

Cruz looked at her innocently, "who, me?"

"What's the problem here?" The guard asked as he arrived on the scene.

Cruz squinted to read the guard's name tag. In clear upper case letters was the name 'Vincent'. "Vincent? That your name?" She asked.

"It's my last. The name's Scott." He replied. _He must be new_, Cruz thought, _too nice to be an old timer. No matter, a newbie's even better._

"Well, Scott, she cut her hand." Cruz explained indicating Faith's hand now completely covered with blood. He winced when he saw it, but quickly took hold of her hand and added pressure.

"Does it hurt? You okay?" Scott asked, looking straight into Faith's eyes, his face full of concern. For a moment Faith was mesmerized by his gorgeous deep blue eyes but quickly snapped out of it to turn and glare at Cruz again.

Cruz snickered, but quickly turned serious when Scott looked at her. She changed her expression and was now looking at him pleadingly, "could you help her? She's my friend, I don't want her bleeding to death or anything." Cruz was astonished at how well she could pull off a ditzy voice.

"Yeah, of course." Scott nodded and then looked back at Faith again. His hard eyes now softening when he gazed back at her. Faith couldn't help but notice how he really enjoyed holding her injured hand. "I'll take you to get it cleaned up." He offered, giving her a friendly smile.

Faith forced a smile and nodded, "sure."

"Don't worry," Scott said to Cruz, "I'll take good care of her."

"I bet you will." Cruz uttered under her breath. Faith heard her little remark and shook her head, giving Cruz a warning look.

"I really hate you, you know that?" Faith said as Scott begun to lead her away from the hedges. She continued to glare back at Cruz until it started to get painful to look over her shoulder. Faith gave up and just allowed Scott to walk her back to the main building.

"Have fun!" Cruz called after them.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Behind Bars 5/6  
Author: Mandi  
Characters: Faith and Cruz  
Summary: While Faith gets friendly with a prison guard; Cruz gets a taste of her own medicine.  
Disclaimer: They are not mine  
Authors Note: Ok, so I have a made up character thrown into the mix. He'll play quite a vital role in the follow up to Behind Bars which I'll probably post soon after I finish up w/Behind Bars.

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"You Cruz?"

Cruz turned around to see three fairly larger women surrounding her.

"What's it to you?" Cruz snickered, not letting them see the fear that was now twisting her insides. She watched as the women neared her, all of them with wicked smiles on their faces.

"We got a message from the boss."

Cruz didn't even have time to react before the first blow came.

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"It's really not that deep." Faith assured Scott as he lead her into the Nurses' Room. He hadn't let go of her hand since Cruz first brought the injury to his attention and Faith's blood was beginning to seep through the handkerchief Scott was applying pressure with.

"Better safe than sorry." He told her kindly, the smile on his face still not completely gone. _Okay, so maybe Cruz was right. Maybe this guy is checking me out._ Faith thought to herself as she watched Scott ask for someone to help me.

"I'm sorry—she'll have to wait awhile, Scott. Apparently, a lot of people decided to get themselves hurt today and we're short staffed." A short stocky woman explained, looking sympathetically at the man in front of her.

"Oh, that's no problem, Jan. I can take care of this one. I have a medical background, remember? Really, I don't mind." Scott offered, turning back briefly to wink at Faith. Faith forced a smile, growing rather uncomfortable. A guy hasn't paid this much attention to her in a long time.

"Sure, Scott." Jan smiled at him, "use exam room 3."

"Thanks." Scott said, turning to Faith and leading her into the room Jan offered them. "Take a seat." Scott gestured to the only bed in the room. Faith feeling a bit uneasy, made her way to the bed slowly and took a seat. She watched as Scott gathered some things from the cabinets lining the wall across from her.

"Thanks—for um, doing this."

"It's my job." Scott replied, not turning around to look at her. He grabbed some rubbing alcohol and some bandages from one of the lower cabinets before making his way over to her.

"I don't think your job requires you to do this." Faith told him as he pulled up a chair and sat right in front of her. "This sure goes beyond the call of duty."

"Like I said before," he took hold of her injured hand gently in his hand and met her eyes, "I don't mind—now this is gonna sting." He warned her before applying the rubbing alcohol to her cut. Faith winced slightly from the pain. "You okay?"

Faith nodded, her eyes leaving her hand and looking back at Scott. His attention was on bandaging her hand so it gave Faith time to study him. He had strong facial features, a very nice looking young man. Faith guessed he was late 20's early 30's, his eyes were an incredible blue color and his light brown hair was short and spiked. He looked far too nice a person to be a prison guard, with the little experience Faith's had with the guards, most were ruthless and uncaring toward prisoners. Scott was different, he was nice, and he seemed genuinely concerned when he discovered she had been injured.

"So—," Faith spoke up, breaking the silence, "how long have you worked here?"

"A little over a year. My father used to be the warden here. He retired a few months ago." Scott explained. He paused, looking back down at their hands. Faith noticed the sadness spread across his face as he continued, "he worked so hard for so long to keep corruption from this place, but it seemed like no matter how hard he tried it was no use. There's corruption everywhere here, especially among the guards. It's hard to prove, but there are those working to fix the problem."

"You being one of them?"

Scott stopped working on her hand long enough to meet her soft gaze, "yeah. I'm one of the good guys, you don't have to worry with me—look, you're probably wondering why I'm telling you all this."

Faith nodded, "well, I was kinda curious."

"I really don't know. I just—I noticed you."

"You noticed me?"

"Yeah, the other week I was on dinner duty when your friend attacked Betty. There was just something about you, I don't know—you caught my eye. And then when Betty threw you against the wall, I wanted to help out, but well—I'm in no position to. So when you got hurt today, I was glad your friend called me over because I do wanna help you—I do wanna protect you in here if I can." He tried explaining, desperately trying to avoid Faith's penetrating gaze. Faith wanted to hug the poor love sick guy in front of her. What he was telling her was just about the sweetest thing anyone's ever admitted to her. "I just—I've seen a lot of bad things happen to—the women here and when I saw you—I—I just don't want any of those things happening to you, that's all."

Faith opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the right words to say. What could she possibly say to this guy? So instead of saying anything, she gently laid her other hand down on his and silently willed him to look at her. After seeing her hand on his, Scott looked up, meeting her gentle gaze. He shyly smiled.

"So I guess what I'm telling you is—well, I guess you could call it a crush." He admitted sheepishly avoiding her gaze again, "you must think I'm out of my mind, right? I mean, I did a little research on why you're in here and everything. You're a detective for Heaven's sake, you probably think I'm so lowly being a prison guard and everything."

"Hey—I'm the prisoner and you're the guard. I think you pretty much out rank me at the moment." Faith responded. Then from out of the blue she stuck out her hand to him, "I don't think we've been formally introduced. My name's Faith."

Scott smiled back at her, "Scott." He replied taking her hand and giving it a firm shake, "nice to meet you."

"Yeah—you too." Faith nodded before looking around the room, "I think it's time I should get back to my cell."

"Of course." Scott said moving away from the bed so she could stand up. "I gotta walk you—policy."

"I understand." Faith assured him as they left the Nurses' Office together and headed back to the cells. As they passed the garden through a glass tunnel connecting the buildings overhead, Faith stopped dead in her tracks. Scott turned and opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong, but when he followed her gaze, he too noticed why she had stopped.

"I have to get to her." Faith barely mumbled before taking off, trying to find the fastest route to the garden below.

Scott grabbed hold of his radio, "This is Vincent, I need medical units to the garden immediately. There's been another attack." He spoke over the system before following after Faith.

"Cruz!" Faith called out, seeing the other woman lying on her side, motionless on the ground. Faith sprinted the last remaining yards before dropping to Cruz's side. "Cruz, can you hear me?" She gently turned Cruz onto her back and checked for a pulse. When she found a faint one Faith quickly surveyed the damage. Cruz's shirt was ripped, revealing bleeding gashes on her shoulder, Faith guessed it was the work of some sort of sharp object. There were numerous dirty shoe prints on the front and side of Cruz's body where someone had kicked her. Faith knew there were at least a few broken ribs from the assault. The whole left side of Cruz's face was covered with blood from a gash right at her hairline. Dark bruises rimmed Cruz's eyes and her lip, nose, and right eye were all bleeding. There was so much blood, Faith barely recognize her.

Anger flared within Faith as she looked around at the slowly surrounding inmates, "Who did this?" She hissed, her voice full of rage. When no one answered, Faith sprung to her feet and grabbed the closest woman by the collar and viciously pulled her closer, "you do this?" She threatened but the woman shook her head, too scared to even reply. Faith let her go then turned to the next suspect, "do you know who did this?"

The skinny girl shook her head, "we were all told to go stand around the corner."

"By who? Who told you that?"

The girl shook her head. Faith grabbed her by the throat, "Who told you to stand around the corner?" Before the girl was able to answer, Scott arrived on the scene, his eyes instantly meeting Faith's.

"What happened?" Scott asked, his concern only for Faith at the moment. Faith held back her anger for now as she turned back to Cruz's beaten body, kneeling once again at her side.

"Someone—Scott, help her." Faith was on the verge of tears and she really didn't understand the countless emotions running through her all at once. Did she really care if Cruz would live or die? When did she start caring? Faith couldn't understand why seeing Cruz like this was affecting her so much. "Please—help her."

"Help's on the way—try to stay calm, Faith. I'm gonna find out who did this?" Scott tried to soothe her, his hand protectively placed on her back. Faith nodded, she had to believe what he was saying, she had to trust him, she was gonna need someone to trust while Cruz was in the medical wing. Faith cursed out loud, swearing vengeance on whoever was involved in assaulting Cruz.

"Yokas—," her voice was raspy and weak.

Faith quickly turned her attention back down at Cruz, instinctively reaching to hold the fallen Officer's hand, "yeah, Cruz—I'm here. Do you remember—do you know who did this to you? Tell me, who did this?"

Cruz coughed up blood as she tried to speak. Faith leaned in closer so that her ear was right next to Cruz's lips. She listened carefully as one name softly slipped into her ear, "Finney—."

Cruz managed to say before she slipped into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Behind Bars 6/6  
Characters: Faith, Cruz, Swersky, Sully  
Summary: Swersky, Sully, and Faith discuss their plans to move against IAB Captain Finney while Cruz fights for her life while in a coma.  
Disclaimer: They are not mine  
Authors Note: Oh, this chapter is kinda brutal for Cruz.

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"Lieu! The son of a bitch had her beaten into a coma! Don't you dare tell me to calm down." Faith warned, glaring at the man in front of her as she stood at Cruz's bedside. Lieutenant Swersky calmly gestured for Faith to sit back down, saying nothing in the process.

"That lousy no good, murdering, son of a bit—."

"Sullivan, I didn't bring you with me so you could go off on him as well." Swersky said, throwing Sully a look that was enough to shut the veteran cop up.

"Of course, sorry boss." Sully apologized, his eyes still unable to leave Cruz's badly beaten face. He pulled his eyes away for a moment to look sadly down at the ground, "I just can't believe he'd stoop this low—to have them 'taken care of' in prison."

"Now, now. We don't know if it's even Captain Finney and throwing around accusations like this without any evidence—."

"Without any evidence!" Faith exclaimed, catching the eye of a few other patients in the Medical Wing. She quickly lowered her voice and leaned forward so that her face was closer to Swersky's before she angrily whispered, "sir—I heard her say his name, it was the last thing she said before ending up like this. Finney's behind it—I know he is. He's wanted to take her down from the beginning, that's why he sent Monroe to our House. He just didn't expect me to be here right along with her, and that's his fatal error. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him get away with this."

"Detective Yokas," Swersky stopped, shaking his head and leaning closer to her, "Faith—I'm speaking to you as a friend now, not a superior. We're talking about the Captain of IAB here, going around making accusations—it's—dangerous."

"You remember what happened 15 years ago, Lieu." Sully spoke up, "you know what he's capable of."

"Rumors, John. Nothing but rumors—."

"Not this time—," Faith said, her eyes returning to Cruz's face, "when Cruz wakes up, she'll tell us all we need to know to nail the bastard."

An hour later, Swersky left to talk to the prison warden while Sully and Faith remained at Cruz's bedside.

"You okay, Faith? What happened to your hand?" Sully asked, finally noticing Faith's bandaged hand. Faith looked down, shrugging slightly.

"I cut it when I was trimming the hedges in the garden. It's nothing—I think it's stopped bleeding already," Faith sighed, shaking her head while running her fingers through her hair with her good hand, "I shouldn't have left her alone."

"Who? Cruz?"

"Yeah."

"Faith, this isn't your fault." He assured her.

"I know, but—."

"No buts. This wasn't you." Sully leaned back in his chair and studied Faith's slouched form while she sat across him. She just looked so tired, so not like the woman he knew. He cleared his throat before speaking, "I went to see Bosco yesterday."

Faith's head quickly snapped up, her eyes wide while looking back at her friend, "you did? How is he?"

"He's better—Faith, I told him you were here?"

"What? How—what did he say? How'd he react?"

Sully dropped his gaze from hers, "He's pissed—to say the least. Especially after I told him Monroe was behind getting you two locked up in the first place. It's just hard, Faith—on all of us—while that bastard Finney sips champagne with the rest of his IAB rats. The official story is that you're covering up for Cruz."

Faith's eyes widened slightly, "does he believe it?"

Sully shook his head, "I really—I don't know."

Faith could feel tears coming to her eyes as she spoke, "I just—I don't want this to touch him, Sul. I don't want Bosco dealing with this. Tell him that the only thing that should be on his mind right now is getting better—he doesn't need to be worrying about my problems. He should be thinking about himself first this time. He can worry about me later."

Sully smiled sadly, "you know I'm not gonna be able to convince him not to care. Faith, he's gonna worry whether he should or not. He just wouldn't be Bosco if he didn't worry about you. You know that."

Faith nodded. From the corner of her eye, Faith saw movement in Cruz's fingers. Her eyes quickly went to Cruz's face where her forehead started to crease, as if she were in pain.

"Is she waking up?" Sully asked, leaning forward to get a better look at Cruz.

Faith shook her head and moved her hand to rest on Cruz's, "she's having a nightmare."

"Nightmare?"

Faith nodded, "in here—we have them every night."

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_"You Cruz?" _

Cruz turned around to see three fairly larger women surrounding her.

"What's it to you?" Cruz snickered, not letting them see the fear that was now twisting her insides. She watched as the women neared her, all of them with wicked smiles on their faces.

"We got a message from the boss."

Cruz didn't even have time to react before the first hit came. The first blow came from the largest of the three, connecting fist to the side of Cruz's head. It was enough to send Cruz flying back into the hedges. But it didn't end there, one after another, they took turns kicking, punching, pulling, spitting on her. When one of them held her by the throat against the fence, Cruz took the time to look around, call for help, but no one was there. All the women who had been working the garden only minutes earlier, were no where in sight.

From the corner of her eye, standing on the balcony to her right, stood a darkened figure. She strained her eyes, calling for help while trying to see who it was. Her eyes widened when the person stepped out from the shadows of the building overhead.

"Finney—," Cruz hissed right before getting another painful blow to the stomach. She keeled over, gasping for air. Her eyes searched again for Finney's and this time she met his glare. A small smile crept over his lips, enjoying the scene before him. Then without a second glance back, he turned and disappeared back into the building.

"Had enough yet?" The leader taunted, grabbing Cruz up by her hair and slamming her against the fence once more. Cruz looked up to the Heaven's, praying for it to be over soon. The woman laughed at the fear so evident on Cruz's face as she pulled out a knife from her back pocket. "We've only just begun." She said before slashing Cruz's delicate skin on her shoulder and across her arms.

Cruz had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming out in pain. She could barely see them anymore, her eyes beginning to severely swell. After 10 minutes straight of an agonizing beating, the leader kicked her one last time in her ribs before leaving Cruz lying there, coughing up blood and wishing for death, anything to not feel the pain inflicted upon her.

"That'll teach you to cross the boss, Cruz." The leader spit at her again, "and don't try to make friends with the guards here either, they're all on the same side—your friend should know better than that. She'll be next if you don't keep your mouth shut." And as quickly as they arrived, they vanished back into the prison.

"Faith—," Cruz whispered when she was alone, "Faith—help me—."

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"Faith—," Cruz's voice was scratchy as she strained to open her eyes which were not swollen shut.

"I'm here—I'm right here, Cruz." Faith uttered, leaning in toward her friend, "hey, it's okay, you're safe now—Sul, go get the doctor."

With a nod of his head, Sully was off his chair and out of the room.

"They wouldn't stop—I couldn't even fight back." Cruz said, fighting back her own tears. Faith nodded, pain creasing her features as well. She really cared about the woman in front of her, genuinely cared. "I couldn't—."

"I know—I know, it's okay. They're not coming back." Faith assured her, "I'm not gonna let them."

Cruz shook her head, "you don't understand, Yokas."

Faith's attention diverted for a moment as she saw Scott walk into the room, his face a mask of concern as he looked at Faith then at Cruz. Faith smiled weakly at him before focusing back on Cruz, "what? What don't I understand? Tell me who did this to you, Cruz?"

"I—," Cruz hesitated looking at Scott who now had a dark look in his eyes. "It was—."

"Who? Who's responsible?" Faith urged Cruz on, but Cruz still hesitated her eyes never leaving Scott's as he shook his head at her. Cruz closed her eyes as the woman's warning rung once again in her ears—

_"...and don't try to make friends with the guards here either, they're all on the same side—your friend should know better than that,. She'll be next if you don't keep your mouth shut..."_

"Cruz? Tell me—who did this?"

Cruz finally looked back at Faith, her emotions conflicted and her eyes sad, "I—I don't know—."

"You said, Finney. Earlier, you said it was Finney." Faith tried to remind her.

Cruz shook her head, "no—I don't remember—it wasn't him. I don't know. Just drop it...it wasn't Finney." Cruz looked back at Scott who was still standing behind Faith. A smile was now on his face as he nodded at her, approvingly.

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When I first wrote this, I had no idea where to take the story, so I kinda just ended it with this chapter.However, I did do a follow up series entitled Turned Loose, which tells the story of Faith & Cruz's lives after prison. I pretty much wrote my own season 6 w/my Turned Loose series. I'll post it here if anyone's interested.


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